A Nightmare's Comfort
by Angelic Ascent
Summary: "'A bit...' You seem more than 'a bit' bothered." At this Ken said nothing, but moved his eyes away from Daisuke and cast them off to the side. "I'm your partner, Ken. You can trust me with anything, okay? Talk to me. Let me help you out. What happened?" *Daiken oneshot, takes place when Ken sleeps over Daisuke's.*


He gasped for air, his lungs burning from the lack of oxygen. He slowed down from his sprint until eventually he stopped, seeing the trees begin to thin out in front of him.

He couldn't go any further. He knew what was beyond the forest. There was no way he could take another step.

A chill ran up his spine. He looked behind himself, and there it was – the darkness, still chasing him. A giant, encroaching shadow, that would soon swallow him whole. His body shivered, and after taking one more deep breath, he forced his legs to carry him past the trees, away from the darkness.

The grass changed to sand, and instead of the trees in front of him there was now the ocean. The dark, gray ocean, its waves moving slowly and silently.

His body froze as he felt the water bleed through the ends of his shoes and touch his feet. He tried to step back but couldn't – instead he felt the ocean pull at his legs, like it had invisible arms, forcing him to his knees. The frigid water splashed onto his hands, and its chill ran along his arms, feeling as though it was seeping into his body itself.

The ocean seemed to rise with each passing second, or perhaps it was simply becoming harder for him to hold himself up, or, more likely, it was both; his arms started to shake, unable to support his body which suddenly felt as though it was made of lead. The sea yanked at him and he fell, feeling the water encase his body. He felt himself falling deeper and deeper through space that wasn't there seconds ago, but now it was an endless, dark chasm. His lungs started to ache and he opened his mouth, but there was only water, of course; he tried to speak, but of course no sound could be made – not in this abyss devoid of everything but darkness. His strength was leaving him and he struggled to reach his arms up, trying to grasp something, anything to pull him out of this darkness –

"Ken! Hey, Ken!"

Ken sat bolt upright, his breaths rapid and ragged, and his heart beating so fast he felt it would burst. He moved his hand to his chest to try to calm it somehow, and went to move his other hand to join it, but felt a tug at his wrist –

"Ken! Ken, what's the matter?"

"M... Motomiya..." Ken's gaze drifted to the boy kneeling next to him – his eyes were focused intently on him, full of strong emotion as always. He attempted to steady his breath a bit and calm his panicked senses, concentrating on the warmth of Daisuke's hand.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Daisuke asked, lowering his voice. It was soft now, something Ken wasn't particularly used to with the way Daisuke usually spoke, and it was starting to seem like a tone he only took when speaking to Ken.

Ken took a deep breath, feeling his pulse begin to steady itself. "A... bit... I'm sorry to have startled you, Motomiya."

"'A bit?' You seem more than 'a bit' bothered." At this Ken said nothing, but moved his eyes away from Daisuke and cast them off to the side. "I'm your partner, Ken. You can trust me with anything, okay? Talk to me. Let me help you out. What happened?"

Ken looked back at him, meeting Daisuke's warm eyes. "M... Motomiya..." He gave a small sigh, before tearing his gaze away once more. "My memories are still a bit blurry... but... one of the first times I went to the Digital World... after I had already met Wormmon..." He stopped, suddenly recalling the first moment Wormmon had put himself directly in harms way to protect Ken, and subsequently expressed his thankfulness that Ken was his partner because of how kind he was – and in return he had spent all that time abusing Wormmon, whipping him, kicking him, calling him worthless –

Ken's muscles tensed as he felt a hole opening in his chest again, a hole filled with immense guilt. He drew an uneven breath and felt his body begin to shake slightly, and just hoped that tears wouldn't fall, not now, not in front of Daisuke –

As if on a queue Daisuke squeezed his hand lightly. "It's okay, Ken."

Again he looked at him, this time being greeted by not only Daisuke's warm eyes, but a soft smile as well. Ken looked back down at his lap and continued. "When I went to the Digital World, it... wasn't like the other times. It didn't look the same. Instead, it was just... and ocean. A dark, gray ocean, and a dark, gray sky."

"A dark... ocean?"

"I... I don't know why, but... I put my Digivice into the water, and... it changed its shape. And the next time I saw Wormmon, I... that was when I told him to address me as the Digimon Kaiser," he finished, in an almost inaudible voice.

There was a small silence before Daisuke spoke. "So... you had a dream about that ocean?"

"It... happens sometimes." Ken's free hand clutched and twisted at the sheet covering him. "I'm at that ocean, and... it just consumes me. I fall, and the water goes over me, and I just... keep falling. It's endless."

Again there was silence; Daisuke opened his mouth to speak, but suddenly, Ken returned his gaze once more and said, "Motomiya... if I ever go to that ocean again, then... I... I don't know what will happen." He swallowed, looking back down and clutching tighter at the sheet. "I don't want to become like that again. I can't become like that again. I... I don't know know what would happen if I found myself there again, and... I... I'm scared."

Daisuke watched him intently as he finished speaking, barely able to hear the last of his words. With his face lowered, his hair masked his eyes a bit, but there was no hiding the sadness and fear in them. "Ken," Daisuke said, holding his hand a bit tighter, "You're different now. You're stronger. I think you're strong enough to pull yourself out of the ocean. But... if you ever have to see that ocean again, I'll be with you. I'm not going to let you be alone any more. And if you think you're going to get pulled in, I'll be holding onto you so tightly it would have to take me, too."

Ken lifted his head, meeting Daisuke's stare. "Motomiya..."

"I will pull you out of the darkness. No matter many times it tries to take you, I will always pull you back." He then reached his free hand up, gently wiping a tear from the corner of Ken's eye. "So... even if you have that dream again, I'm sure that I'll pull you out." He gave another reassuring smile, and Ken simply stared at him without saying anything, still taking in his words. He had taken no time to think, he just spoke what had come to his mind; his words were pure, like everything else he said, and Ken thought there was no way to not believe what he was saying.

"And hey, cut it with the 'Motomiya' stuff. Call me Daisuke."

"Um..."

"Well... I guess I get why you'd be uncomfortable with that in front of everyone." He laughed a little. "But if it's just us, call me Daisuke." He grinned widely, squeezing Ken's hand again. "We're partners, after all."

Ken felt a smile tug on his mouth. "Right... Daisuke."

Again Daisuke smiled at him. "So... are you feeling better now?"

"Mm... thank you, Daisuke," Ken said softly.

"That's what I'm here for," he replied. "I'm never going to let you just suffer by yourself, Ken."

This time, it was Ken who squeezed Daisuke's hand. "You too, Daisuke. Thank you."

Again Daisuke smiled at him and Ken still couldn't help but return it. "I guess we should probably get back to sleep."

Before Ken could say a word, Daisuke tossed his arm around his back, still holding Ken's hand with the other. He froze a bit, surprised. "D-Daisuke..."

"Sleep well, okay?" Daisuke said softly, holding him tightly.

With a little bit of reluctance, Ken raised his arm and returned the embrace. Daisuke's body was warm; he felt his heartbeat against his, the rise and fall of his chest with each breath he took; the reassuring presence of his existence. "Mm... you too, Daisuke."

For moments they stayed like that in silence, listening only to the sound of each other's heartbeat. Eventually they pulled away, but their hands stayed interlocked even as Daisuke climbed back into his bed and tossed the blanket over himself. Ken went to lay down, and Daisuke pulled at his hand. "Scoot over a bit. So we can stay like this."

A small smile formed on Ken's face, which Daisuke returned. As requested, he scooted to the edge of his makeshift bed, lying down while still holding Daisuke's hand.

"Good night, Ken."

"Good night, Daisuke."

-

A/N: Too lazy to proofread, sorry if there are any mistakes. Thank you for reading.


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